Thinking about TV adverts: Pepsi

Thinking about TV adverts:

As seen, the TV advert above is of Pepsi, a renowned soda brand.

Rivalry will happen when the last can of Pepsi is available as it is completely irresistible. Similar to most soda brands, Pepsi tends to advertise by portraying their tastefulness and immediately after one sip, the individual gets energetic/lively like a force to reckon with, ready to take on the world. This correlates with their present slogan that claims, "embrace your past, but live for now". From this particular scene, the message conveyed is how Pepsi is always wanted by many.

The storyline starts with Harry Styles, one of the members of One Direction, strolling towards a vending machine for a can of Pepsi and is then interrupted by Drew Brees, an American football player, forcing Harry to hand him the Pepsi. They then continued to fight with each other, both parties smack-talking to show who's more deserving of the last can of Pepsi based on their achievements / popularity status. Niall (another member of One Direction) then proposed a preposition for Drew by saying "if you give him (Harry) the Pepsi, you can be in the band" to which Drew whole-heartedly agreed with. They achieved a compromise. The end of the advertisement shows a now six-piece boyband with newly added member, Drew, singing enthusiastically on stage.

The main characters would be Harry and Drew, however the members of One Direction are also involved and could be perceived as main acts. The commercial is focused on them and the idea of featuring both of these different parties in the first place is to attract mass publicity as they are both well known.

The setting is in a building, backstage a studio with props such as chairs, coffee maker, vending machine and a sign that reads "The Next Night Show".

There are non-diegetic sounds coming from the whooping out of trophies and medals and diegetic of Harry's whistling and their performance at the end. The music is absent throughout this whole commercial to focus solely on the witty dialogue and quirkiness emanated from the idea of fighting over a can of Pepsi by comparing each other's achievements, competitively. At the end of the commercial, music is finally present and a song by One Direction is played to as if almost announcing closure. 

The props they've used - trophies, medals, Superbowl ring and hoards of screaming fans just contribute to their argument which essentially shows how they're willing to go on forever on who's better.

There are a lot of shot/reverse shot used, typically to delineate their dialogue and the conversation theyre engaging in. Also, camera zooming to emphasise their argument points. Most of the shots are of medium close ups or just generally close ups for viewers to identify with their feelings and expressions.

The cut aways are fast, brief yet enough to raise excitement and catch attention from viewers, making them wanting to know more.

Primarily, in general, soda is meant to make you more energetic due to the ludicrous amount of sugar contained in one single can. In this advert, Pepsi is trying to transmit that message by almost saying something like "everyone wants this soda, even the A-list celebrities are willing to fight over the last can of Pepsi". The theme basically centrals around Pepsi's delicious, refreshing taste that is sure to bring you happiness from one sip. 

I personally am not a fan of soda, however, from this advert I just might give it a go as I find the commercial super interesting, especially by involving these celebrities who do completely two different things for a living. Pepsi is genuinely brilliant by doing so.

Thinking about TV adverts: Carling

Thinking about TV adverts:

The above TV advert is essentially about a lager/beer brand named Carling.

From this scene, Carling, or beer in general, is meant to bring joy and happy times in life (as shown, simply watching a football match with your mate) and it's incredibly worth it to go through ridiculous obstacles for a pint of beer.

It's of a guy who works in an office, as portrayed from the environment and his outfit - he's dressed in a shirt and tie smartly and his colleagues as well as manager visibly practice professionalism. From here, he gets distracted by the sight of his friend who stood outside a bar, persisting him to join for a pint of beer while enjoying the live football game being televised at 5pm. 

The main character is the worker who is very cunning in coming up with brilliant ways to plan an escape route out of the office and towards the bar for a readily waiting Carling beer in the hands of his friend. In addition, the whole advertisement is basically centred on him and his amusing behaviour, attempting to break free of his job by constructing mindless antics.

The setting is of an office with hardworking, focused colleagues. All of them seem to be engaged in some sort of work-related activity which introduces the idea of a competent, fast paced environment. There is also a stark juxtaposition existing between the setting outside of the office space (light, cheery lighting) and the office itself (blue, gloom lighting). This is to depict the contrast between a joyful and sticky situation.

There is not much narration going on or dialogue being conversed, hence the background music plays the most crucial role in establishing feelings and emotions of the viewers. This is done by the loud, suspenseful music being played throughout the main protagonist's intention to beat the retreat, raising tension and build up for the ending. Quintessentially like most action-packed movies.

The props that are used by the main character seem to contribute most to his silly schemes, yet he fails at the end by walking straight to a glass door. As mentioned, the lighting and music (including diegetic and non-diegetic sounds) both equally play huge roles in maintaining a well-versed mise en scene. The workers are also all dressed in appropriate office attires - as costumes - that just tells the viewers the objective of time and place. There is limited space in the office which can be insinuated as how the main character feels almost trapped with a dying need to just get out for a Carling beer, apparently.

Tracking shot is employed to render continuity and maintain a constant action with the main character. There is also a lot of eyeline match going on.

The cut-aways are fairly short and chronological, making everything seem faster and even more hectic. The brief yet abrupt clips can also raise excitement.

In conclusion, the point to be made across is fundamentally how Carling beer is worth getting into all the trouble and hassle for. A strong temptation emanates making it almost impossible to refrain from the beer itself.

The predominant concept of this advert is basically how certain individuals are willing to go overboard/all the way for a pint of 'refreshingly brilliant' beer which is obviously, Carling based on their widely publicised slogan. The theme centrals on how one tends to exaggerate and go beyond the limits for Carling.

I personally wouldn't buy this product as it's not something I'd go for, however, I find the storyline of this commercial to be very interesting in a quirky way.